harmonize_rpg | (no subject)

Who: Erika (open)
Where: Auditorium area, various.
When: Sunday, May 7th. Immediately after the assembly announcing Miyume's death.
What: Introducing Erika.

The school assembly announcing the sudden tragic death of Hazama Miyume ended. Most of the students leaving the auditorium held somber or troubled expressions but not Erika. While not exactly bursting with joy at the occasion, her soft smile seemed jarringly sunny in comparison to the others around her. It wasn't that she was unaffected by the death of a classmate. Of course, it was tragic news - a girl her own age, her own class even, dying so suddenly of a brain aneurysm like that. It was much like witnessing the death of a sick pet, she thought. Shocking and saddening but not entirely unexpected. Honestly, Erika had been more surprised by that it had been an aneurysm instead of suicide after how miserable Hazama had looked on Friday and her very messy, public breakdown on the school network over Golden Week.

Life went on, however, no matter how much it hurt to admit it. She'd given both Hazama and the German girl a wide berth, as did many in their class after the sick girl's little stunt during introductions. Dealing with Kiwanami-sensei on a daily basis was hard enough without giving the teacher concrete reasons to dislike her any more than she already did. Erika had survived school so far by playing it safe and doing her best to fit in, not an easy task for a hafu in Japan these days.

With a light grace to her stride, Erika filed out with the others, wondering what she should do with the rest of her Sunday.

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Mirai was somewhat annoyed by this question. In the course of his time at Chitoku he had talked to nobody in detail. He proceeded to act normally though; in the fast-moving crowd he pulled ahead by a step. He did not stop but turned his gaze back. His teeth clenched, but he said politely.

"I wouldn't say no," he said, "but I owe others a talking to first."

He just received terrible news, she reminded herself as she smoothed her skirt in an attempt to keep her hands from clenching into fists. She'd had enough people trying to hammer her out of existence throughout her life to recognize it when she saw it. Imaizumi's motivations just seemed different from everyone else's.

She didn't respond. Better to just leave things alone. The day had started out nicely enough but between the assembly, Inuzuka, and now Imaizumi, it looked like it would just get worse the longer she stayed on campus.

Mirai shouldered Erika's annoyance and walked off, hands-in-pockets. He vanished in the crowd and walked up the stairs ahead. He had not the slightest interest in talking to her about Miyume. Nobody else either. As far as he was concerned, his needs in that area would never be fulfilled.

So she'd already managed to piss two people off in rapid succession. Erika looked around, wondering morbidly if anyone in the crowd around her would step up to be a third. She must be on some kind of roll, she thought bitterly. This might be a new record for her.

Another day by herself looked more pleasant by the moment. She didn't feel nearly so lonely when she kept to herself out of choice. She'd been named for a type of flower - the erika flower, also known as spring or winter heather. It symbolized solitude in hanakotoba.

Once again, it struck her that her parents couldn't have chosen a more fitting name for her.